North Star Notes. Upcoming Events. In this edition: -A Word from the Chief-p.2. -FAA Safety Team-p.3. -A Safety Culture-p.4. -Safety Trends-p.

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1 North Star Notes In this edition: -A Word from the Chief-p.2 -FAA Safety Team-p.3 -A Safety Culture-p.4 -Safety Trends-p.5 November 2018 Upcoming Events Nov 7 th -Open Skate o From 6:15 to 7:15 at All Seasons Arena Nov 8 th -FAA Safety Seminar o 6:30 in WC 220 Nov 10 th -Rake the Town o Time TBD Nov 15 th -Corporate Aviation Speakers o 5:00 at the airport Nov 16 th -ATC Tour in Farmington 1

2 A Word from the Chief Hello everyone! We are currently on about week 11 out of 16 for the semester. We have already had a busy flight schedule, but it appears the bad winter weather is starting to come early. For those of you that have soloed congratulations, and for those of you still working, keep at it! We have been undergoing improvements to our schedule that will hopefully help maximize aircraft time and keep everyone flying when the weather is good. We are doing what we can to help keep everyone progressing, but there are some things that all students should start considering. Thanksgiving break, winter break, spring break, and the summer semester are coming up. If you plan on staying (and you probably should) please start looking for living arrangements. The dorms are open over Thanksgiving, winter break, spring break, and summer break; however, you must sign up to stay. Please consider staying. I have had talks with several students about staying over the summer. Most ask if they should stay, and the answer is yes! Summer semester is a great time to fly with the longer days and sunny weather. You may be wondering why I am talking about summer semester already, and the reason is because everyone who wants to stay needs to plan ahead. The dorms are open during the summer; however, you need to go through Residential Life, and there is an additional fee for the summer semesters. If you are planning on moving off campus, move in dates are important to take note of. Most apartments or town homes in the area work on 12-month leases that end at the end of the summer. Some have ways to move in early, but most will require you to find a current tenant to sublease form. Please avoid a lot of stress and start planning now! If anyone has any questions about anything, please stop by and let me know! Fly Safe! -Christopher Plasek 2

3 FAA Safety Team If your first thought is what is the FAA Safety Team (FAASTeam), I would like to explain what the FAA Safety Team is all about. The mission of the FAASTeam is to Improve the Nation s aviation accident rate by conveying safety principles and practices through training, outreach, and education; while establishing partnerships and encouraging the continual growth of a positive safety culture within the aviation community. My name is Al Thilmany and I am the FAASTeam Program Manager. I am a retired Air Force pilot and have FAR parts 141, 135 and 91 flight experience. I am part of the Minneapolis Flight Standards District Office (MSP FSDO) and I am here to help YOU. I have been with the MSP FSDO as a FAA inspector for the last five years and I have three years as an accident investigator. The FAASTeam wants to ensure all airman are aware of the benefits of the 3 FAASTeam and the WINGS program. The WINGS program is a general aviation proficiency program. Aviation is continually evolving and whether you are a student or an experienced airman, you will realize it is a perishable skill. If you can keep refining your skills as an airman, with focused flying and study, safety is increased which results in less accidents, incidents, pilot deviations etc. The goal of the FAASTeam, using the WINGS program, is to keep training and education as an integral part of a pilot s toolbox, while increasing experience and proficiency. By increasing experience and proficiency, your confidence level increases, keeping all aspects of your flying experience as positive and accident free as possible. You are strongly encouraged to make the WINGS program part of your training starting as a student pilot through ATP and CFI. If you need help, ask your local CFI to learn more about the FAASTeam and WINGS programs. If you see me around MSU, I am open to any aviation topic. Feel free to ask about the FAASTeam and WINGS and I will explain more of the benefits of this outstanding program. Aviation safety starts with you. Allow the FAASTeam to give you the appropriate tools to make that achievable. I look forward to hearing from you.

4 A Safety Culture We often remind and nag students throughout our Aviation courses about the need for safety and a safety mindset. We all like to think we are safe thinking people who operate with a safety mindset in our daily lives, to include especially those times we are flying. However, it has been my observation that for all our own selfproclaimed safety mindsets, there still remains a distinct lack of a Safety Culture in many of us toward our approach to flying and flight training. Sound training practices and procedures are not adequate if merely practiced mechanically. They require an effective safety culture to flourish. We have a Safety Management System in place at the airport, but for many years it was just the paper end of a safety program. An active, thriving Safety Culture is what provides us the edge to safely assume the risks we must take to accomplish proper flight training. A functioning safety culture has several key elements including informed managers and instructors who know what is going on and pilots at all levels of experience who are willing to report their own errors and near misses. This type of culture also produces pilot who are ready for the unexpected and operates with a clear line between the acceptable and unacceptable. Finally, safety cultures never tolerate recklessness. Each of us, from the top manager to the beginning student, has a role to play in establishing, developing and maintaining a safety culture. Safety management can only manage standard hazards and other obstacles to a safe flying operation. Safety cultures on the other hand, take into account more the risks and hazards themselves and the ways we mitigate them in flying and living safely. It is more than a mindset it must become an embedded way of approaching all our flight training, flying, and life in general. I would encourage all of you to play a role in making the safety culture surrounding the MSU flight training as strong and vibrant as possible. Safety must always be priority ONE. -Tom Peterson 4

5 Safety Trends Magnetos have been left on numerous times the past few months. Be sure to follow the checklist during every engine shutdown to prevent this. There are constant reports of traffic pattern conflicts. Remember to use proper scanning techniques and to use the radios effectively. If anyone is interested in joining the North Star Aviation Safety Team, contact Brian Rutt at Cold weather is here and along with that comes special procedures. Look for the newly revised Flight Operations Manual for cold weather ops. 5